KJCKorea
Journal Central

@article{ART002948174},
author={Eunseok Ro and Josephine Lee},
title={Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays},
journal={The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea},
issn={1226-4822},
year={2023},
volume={31},
number={1},
pages={1-32}

TY - JOUR
AU - Eunseok Ro
AU - Josephine Lee
TI - Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays
JO - The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea
PY - 2023
VL - 31
IS - 1
PB - The Sociolinguistic Society Of Korea
SP - 1
EP - 32
SN - 1226-4822
AB - By adopting conversation analysis, this study examines how action formation and understanding displays construct a socially inept and humorous character in the TV sitcom, The Office. The analysis revealed two recurrent patterns in the main character’s interactions—improper action formation and insufficient understanding displays. Specifically, the findings showed that the main character, Michael, was construed as one that is unaware of his uncanny actions and unable to understand the interlocuter’s inferential and sarcastic remarks. The inserted interview scenes also highlighted that a conversational norm has been violated and contribute to the characterization of Michael as a quirky, socially incompetent worker. As a result, the collective sender is not only able to establish common ground with the audience but also dramatize the humorous potential of the episode. These analytic findings demonstrate that CA can be a rigorous tool for revealing the specific interactional devices that are exploited by scriptwriters to configure characters and infuse comical elements into TV sitcoms.
KW - sitcom;The Office;action formation;understanding display;conversation analysis;media;televisual discourse
DO -
UR -
ER -

Eunseok Ro and Josephine Lee. (2023). Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(1), 1-32.

Eunseok Ro and Josephine Lee. 2023, "Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays", The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, vol.31, no.1 pp.1-32.

Eunseok Ro, Josephine Lee "Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 31.1 pp.1-32 (2023) : 1.

Eunseok Ro, Josephine Lee. Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays. 2023; 31(1), 1-32.

Eunseok Ro and Josephine Lee. "Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 31, no.1 (2023) : 1-32.

Eunseok Ro; Josephine Lee. Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(1), 1-32.

Eunseok Ro; Josephine Lee. Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea. 2023; 31(1) 1-32.

Eunseok Ro, Josephine Lee. Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays. 2023; 31(1), 1-32.

Eunseok Ro and Josephine Lee. "Socially Incompetent Character in The Office: Focus on Action Formations and Understanding Displays" The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 31, no.1 (2023) : 1-32.